


Ruined

by RuvikKin



Series: Red Dead A/B/O Universe [12]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eye Trauma, Fighting, Gore, I am so fucking sorry, Kieran doesn't deserve this but I really wanted to write it, M/M, Probably not very accurate doctor workings for the 19th century but whatever, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24240034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RuvikKin/pseuds/RuvikKin
Summary: “Hey! Duffy!” Kieran jumped and pulled his hand away from Mary-Beths, the two of them looking up to see Arthur walking over. “Wanna come for a ride with me?”“Where to?”“Lake, ain’t too far. I need to get clean and I don’t feel like paying for a bath.” Kieran raised his brow in curiosity.“Why don’t you have Charles go with you? Or… Anyone else?”
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Charles Smith, Kieran Duffy/Bill Williamson
Series: Red Dead A/B/O Universe [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537531
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	Ruined

**Author's Note:**

> So, my last one for the series I left off with Eleanor and Jack being kidnapped and I sat down and tried to write something out but we all know what happened with Bronte and it really wasn't worth it to write? So they're back home and safe and there was a large party and everyone was happy!

Kieran sat at one of the tables at Shady Belle, staring at the book in front of him that Mary-Beth was trying to teach him to read. One of Hoseas books that the man had let him borrow, telling him it was much better than any of Dutch’s ‘Evelyn Miller’ books he would try to get him to read if he mentioned learning. Mary-Beth had been teaching him to read since they were still camped out near Valentine, which was nice enough of her, especially since Kieran didn’t leave the camp much.   
Right now though, reading seemed much more difficult than it needed to be, and she could tell he was getting frustrated enough already. Mary-Beth was doing her best to teach him, but she sighed, pulling the book away to close it up. “You’re having a tough time huh?” He nodded. “Something on your mind?”

“Uhm. No, no not really. Just a lot been happening you know.” She understood and gently reached over to place her hand on top of his, smiling at him softly. “You shouldn’t-”   
“If Bill wants to get snippy with me because I’m holdin your hand he can get snippy. Everyone knows you’re together, if you tell him you’re just havin a rough time he’ll let it go.” Kieran blushed, reaching up with his other hand to rub his neck.

Mary-Beth was an alpha, one of the few female alphas Kieran had met, and one of the few he met that wasn’t a complete hothead. She was nice to him, teaching him to read and keeping him company when the rest of the gang avoided him.

“Hey! Duffy!” Kieran jumped and pulled his hand away from Mary-Beths, the two of them looking up to see Arthur walking over. “Wanna come for a ride with me?”

“Where to?”   
“Lake, ain’t too far. I need to get clean and I don’t feel like paying for a bath.” Kieran raised his brow in curiosity.

“Why don’t you have Charles go with you? Or… Anyone else?”

“Well-” Arthur chuckled, shrugging. “If he comes with there won’t be much cleaning going on. And you’re startin’ to stink anyway. I don’t want to go out alone right now, too much going on, nobody should be out alone. Now go, grab some clean clothes.” Sounded about right, so Kieran got up and nodded to Mary-Beth before he went to his and Bills shared tent to grab some clothes of his own.

He head back over to Arthur and the two went to their horses- Bill was keeping watch so Kieran quickly told him where they were heading before he mounted his horse. He waited for Arthur to get himself situated on the horse right, having to sit a little weird due to his belly, and they head out.

Just as Arthur said before, the lake wasn’t too far off, and Arthur motioned to Kieran for him to get into the water first while Arthur got his things together. Kieran stripped down, set his clothes by his horse and went into the water, shuddering at the chilly water. He dunked his head under, running his fingers through his hair to get some of the grime out of it.

Arthur joined a moment later, tossing a bar of soap at him. “Thank you.” Kieran mumbled, wetting the bar down before he started to clean himself. Kieran kept his back to Arthur as they got clean, staying mostly quiet until Arthur spoke.

“How are you and Bill doing?”

“We’re fine.” Kieran put soap on his hands, running his fingers through his hair quickly. “We uh- planning on leaving soon for a few days. You know.” Arthur hummed, moving himself into the lake further, splashing the water up onto his face.

“Of course. Does Dutch know you’re both heading out?”

“I think so. Bill said he’d tell Dutch.” Kieran watched Arthur as he swam around the water, laying back in it with his eyes closed against the gentle current that kept him mostly in place. “How about you? You’re getting close huh?”

“Finally. My god these months couldn’t be longer. You ever been expecting?”   
“No sir.”

“Much as kids are fun, gettin there is a hell of a thing.” Arthur looked at Kieran, his face set with his mouth in a thin line. “I’m surprised Bill ain’t bonded you yet. He seemed deadset on havin’ you.” Kieran shrugged, splashing water on his face again.   
“Uh, well we ain’t… We haven’t…” Kieran stumbled over his words, gently swirling the water in front of him. “Haven’t had time to do much and we didn’t want to rush things. Plus I ain’t had a heat and he ain’t had a rut yet.” Arthur stood up again in the water, a smile on his face. “What?”

“You’re shittin me? Bills a gentleman?” Arthur laughed, wading through the water back to the shallow area. “Craziest thing I ever-” He stopped suddenly, looking up at the trees. Kieran looked at him, and then looked past him into the trees.

“What?” Arthur shushed him, slowly walking out of the water. He motioned for Kieran to follow, and kept his eyes on the trees, grabbing his pants to pull a pair on. Kieran was quick to do the same, being in the middle of pulling his shirt on when he heard footsteps snapping twigs in the forest. Arthur grabbed his gun off his horse, holding it up.

“Who’s there?!” A shot rang out, hitting the ground beside them which scared the horses off, leaving the two of them without a quick escape and with only the gun that Arthur pulled off of his horse. “Shit!” Arthur aimed his horse where the gunshot came from, stepping in front of Kieran. “Who the hell is there?” Not a moment later three men, O’Driscolls from what Arthur could tell, walked out of the woods. “You god damn-” One of them shot the ground by his feet, making him flinch, but he still made sure to keep Kieran behind him.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Arthur.” One spoke, the other two chuckled “We’re just here for Duffy. You can hand him over and go on your merry way.” Arthur kept his gun aimed on the one speaking, his eyes darting between the three men quickly. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“The hell you want him for?” Arthur asked, not that he would hand Kieran over even if they did answer.

“Colm wants him back. We finally found him, we’re gonna bring him. Now just-” The one speaking didn’t get a chance to finish before Arthur pulled the trigger, aiming just past his head as a warning shot.

“You get lost, all three of you, before I don’t miss next time.” One of them sighed, cocking his head slightly.

“This could’ve gone easily, Arthur.” Arthur didn’t have time to react, another two men rushed out of the woods, a rope flying out of one of their hands that caught on Kierans neck, tugging him down to the ground with a loud gagging noise.   
“Kieran-” The other man walked over to Arthur, his gun pressing against Arthurs throat, a sinister smirk on his face. “You god damn pig-fuckers.”

“Grab him too. Colm will be happy.”

“Oh, with pleasure.” The man with the gun against Arthurs throat took a step back before he swiftly swung his gun up, hitting Arthur in the temple to knock him to the ground.

`

`

`

`

Bill was bored of standing around, taking to leaning on the gate wall, grumbling to himself about guard shifts being the most hellish thing to him. He was ready to hand the gun over to someone else and lay down with a beer, wait for Kieran to get back and finish their plans for leaving for a few days. He heard a commotion behind him, Charles talking rather loud and he turned his attention to the camp. He was talking to Dutch, and Hosea- though it looked like there wasn’t as much talking going on as there was some yelling. It wasn’t an argument, Charles wasn’t the type of man to start an argument or get mad, but there was obviously something wrong.

Javier rushed out from the camp to Bill, grabbing the guards gun from him. “Somethings wrong with Arthur. Didn’t he head out with Kieran?”

“Shit.” Bill cursed and quickly made his way over to Charles, finally able to understand what was going on.

“-Arthur is a smart man. He probably hit his head on a tree branch, you’re over-reacting to this Charles.” Dutch was dismissing him, for whatever reason, while Charles stood with his fists balled tight.

“This is different, this is just the same feeling I had when you shot up Valentine with him.”

“And he got out of there fine didn’t he?” Dutch waved his hand, looking to Hosea. “This is no call for concern Hosea.”

“It could be Dutch. He is seven months along now, and if Charles is saying he has a bad feeling then we should let them go out.” Dutch sighed, shaking his head. “Dutch-”   
“Fine, if you are so certain something is wrong then-” It was then that Dutch finally noticed Bill and he motioned to the man. “Take Bill, and ah…” Dutch glanced around the camp. “Mrs Adler. Is that good for you Charles?” Bill was almost dumbfounded by Dutch, the man wasn’t even trying to pretend he was worried even as Charles was obviously worried and trying to talk to him. “Mrs Adler!” Dutch called out to her and waved her over. “Will you head out with Charles and Bill, figure out whats going on with Arthur?”

“Sure Dutch.” Sadie nodded and turned to Charles. “Lead the way.” The man turned quickly, heading to his horse with Bill and Sadie behind him.

“What happened?” Bill asked as they mounted up, riding out of camp. “Should I be worried?”   
“I don’t know.” Charles admit, glancing to Bill. “I was fine, and my mark started to burn, and my head started hurting. Even if Arthur did just hit his head on something…”

“Where was they?” Sadie piped up, making no effort to hide the way she grabbed her gun to keep it in her hand. “You say hes in danger, I’ll believe you even if Dutch doesn’t.”

“Just up in a lake, Arthur and I went up not that long ago, hunting that way.” Charles spoke as he watched the ground, seeing the trail where Arthur and Kierans horses had gone.

The closer they got to the lake the more worried Charles seemed to get, and Bill felt a bad feeling in his gut. They arrived and Charles jumped off his horse, heading over to a pile of clothes on the ground. “Arthurs clothes. And his hat, he’d never leave it behind even in a hurry.”

“Kierans too.” Bill pointed to another pair on the ground, looking around the area. “I smell more alphas.”

“O’Driscolls.” Sadie said through grit teeth. Charles checked the ground, finding a trail before he got back onto his horse and the three rode fast.

`

`

`

`

The sounds of O’Driscolls around him made Kieran anxious. They’d knocked out Arthur, bound his hands behind his back and put him on one of their horses to take him along, while Kieran was tied around his own hands and feet and slung onto the back of a horse. Not long after they put a blindfold across his eyes, laughing about how much Colm will love to see him again.

Any thought of Colm made his gut clench, he hadn’t seen the man in months, hadn’t run into any O’Driscolls but he hadn’t left the camp much other than to bathe or do small fishing trips with Bill. Kieran silently hoped that Arthur would wake up soon, grab a gun or a knife and kill the sons of bitches before anything bad happened.

But, unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

The horses stopped and Kieran was lifted off the back of the horse and carried while the men laughed and spoke. Something about Arthur, one of them shouting to Colm, overlapping conversations as Kieran was carried somewhere and dropped hard on the floor. He lay there until a man grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up onto his knees. Kierans heart raced as he heard the telltale sound, the oh so familiar sound, of Colms spurs as the man walked up and the rest of his gang died down.

“Well, Kieran. It’s good to see you.” Colm removed the blindfold, roughly grabbing Kierans chin to force them to look at each other. “I’ve missed you. Been looking all over for you, and my boys brought you straight home! They even brought good ol’ Morgan!” Kieran looked to where Colm motioned and saw Arthur lying behind him, slowly stirring as he woke up from being knocked out. “What a treat. I didn’t know Arthur was expecting.”

“You leave him alone!” Kieran pulled away from Colm, staring up at the man, his face pinched in anger. “W- What do you want Colm?”

“I want a lot of things, mostly I want to know where Dutch is. I have some unfinished business with him… Killing my men up at six-point cabin, stealing away whats  _ mine. _ ” Colm grabbed Kierans hair, tangling his fingers in it. By now Arthur was more awake, being forced to sit up, uncomfortably on his knees. A large bruise was forming on Arthurs head from where he’d been hit with the gun, and when the two made eye contact; Kieran could almost tell Arthur was worried about what would happen next. To get his way, Colm wasn’t above killing anyone, regardless of their situation.

“I ain’t tellin’ you where Dutch is.” Arthur spat, struggling against the man that was holding his arms. “God damn pathetic, kidnapping people just to find Dutch?” Colm turned his attention more towards Arthur, walking over to grab him by the hair and punch him across the face, causing him to hunch over. “Shit-”

“You bonded to someone. I hope they felt that.” Colm pulled a knife from his pocket, twisting it around in his hands, looking back to Kieran with a sick grin. “If you don’t tell me where Dutch is then I’ll kill him. And if you still don’t speak, I’ll kill this too.” Colms boot pressed lightly against Arthurs stomach, and Arthurs eyes widened in fear, his arm moving quickly to shove Colm away from him. Kieran struggled against the man that held him still, watching Colm walk back over to him. “Better start talking.”

Kieran felt his hair grabbed roughly, his head tilted up and someone holding his head, while another held his arms, keeping him in place. Colm held the knife out, placing his free hand on Kierans forehead, his thumb moving to Kierans eye, forcing it to stay open.

Kierans breathing picked up, he struggled, watching the knife come closer to his eye.

`

`

`

`

When they heard the screaming Bills stomach lurched. Kieran, it was obviously Kieran. They were close, Bill being the first off his horse and if Charles hadn’t grabbed him by the collar of his shirt then he would have run straight into the middle of the O’Driscoll camp. “Thats Kieran-”

“I know. Don’t run in and get yourself killed damn it.” Charles looked around the area, pointing up to a ledge not far away. “I’m going to head up there, Bill you and Sadie head around and don’t get seen. Wait until you see me before you do anything stupid.” The last part was obviously aimed towards Bill and the man just gripped his gun tighter, nodding slightly.

“Sure.” Sadie gently tapped Bill on the shoulder, splitting away from Charles while staying under some cover of shade.

The camp wasn’t too far away, Sadie noted that no guards were around and there was a large gathering in the midst of camp- where all the screaming was coming from. They could hear Arthur shouting as well, loudly but nothing they could make out from all the other noise. “Kierans probably in the middle of that. I don’t know how to do this any way other than shootin and hoping theres no knives to their necks.” Sadie whispered to Bill and it made his stomach lurch, the thought of Kieran dying, or even Arthur. The pair snuck around, easily getting into the camp with no guards in there and Sadie motioned to a house. “You take cover over there, lots of room to duck and hide. I’ll stay here, go, quick, and remember to wait for Charles.” Bill didn’t respond, just did as he was told and slowly crept to the house. He took cover inside of it, quietly getting one of the windows open to aim his gun out of. For now he peeked over the edge of it, able to see Charles lying down on the ledge.

Charles was looking down through binoculars, his stomach twisting at the sight in front of him. He grabbed his bow, knowing he’d need to grab his gun right after but right now the bow was silent. Charles ready his weapon, aiming it down into the crowd.

`

`

`

`

One moment there was seering pain in Kierans eye, or the socket now, he couldn’t see out of that side anymore, but he could feel. He felt when the knife retracted and was replaced by a finger, obviously just trying to do more damage now than what was already done. Tears streaming down his face through his other eye, his throat was raw from screaming, and he could only hear muffled noises beyond the pounding of his blood in his ears.

The next moment he felt himself hit the ground as the men let him go, someone shouting about being shot, and the sounds of gunshots ringing out. He couldn’t move, like his body had given out. Kieran lay there, feeling the blood pooling out that he was laying in.

“Kieran! Kieran!” Arthurs voice was fuzzy, cutting through the sounds already. “Shit. It’s okay, I got you.” He felt himself be lifted up but still he didn’t want to wake up, he grumbled and let himself fall limp.

`

“God damn it Kieran.” Arthur grabbed a gun off of a body before he grabbed Kieran and began to drag him behind some cover, making sure to tip his head so his blood stopped dripping out of his head. The man was pale, of course he was, jesus christ, Arthur was forced to watch as Colm dug his eye out with a knife.

There was no doubt in his mind that Charles had seen it too, and had waited until Colm was done before the arrow had been shot. Though Charles didn’t aim at Colm, no, the arrow went through the head of the man holding Kieran in place- or one of their heads- and then it seemed the world exploded in gunshots.

Arthur ducked behind the cover with Kieran, peeking out to scan the area where he saw Sadie rushing down O’Driscolls, screaming at them and killing them- either with her gun or with a knife. He aimed the gun at a man rushing up behind her and fired, causing her to turn and see them. She didn’t stop for long, only gave him a thumbs up, and pointed towards them before she continued on her rampage. Arthur scanned the area again, looking for Charles, he figured the man had to be up high but from his cover he couldn’t see him.

“Kieran!” Bills voice was clear as day and Arthur turned to him, for once happy to see the man. “Oh my god, Kieran.”

“You get him outta here, doctor in Saint Denis, go.” Arthur hefted Kieran up, passing him over to Bill who was staring at him in horror. “Go on Bill, we won’t be far behind.”

“Charles is up on the ledge, he sees me leaving without you-”

“And I’ll tell him that I told you to go, I ain’t leaving him or Sadie here like this, your god damn mate needs medical attention now go!” Arthur shouted at him, turning back out to the clearing he aimed his gun at another O’Driscoll, blowing their head clean off. He wondered where Colm got off to, the man probably turned tail and ran as soon as the shooting started, or he was laying on the ground dead.

Luckily Bill didn’t waste much more time, lifting Kieran up to carry him the best he could, still holding his gun just in case he rushed out and back to where the horses were. He’d get Kieran out first, he was already so pale and looked so weak that Bill knew he wouldn’t last much longer without a doctor- he just hoped to god it wasn’t too late.

Arthur stayed back, ducking behind his cover until the shooting died off and he heard Sadie shouting at everyone to ‘run off like the cowards they are’. He left then, standing on shaky legs while letting a breath out through his mouth. His hand gently rubbed over his stomach, feeling the kid in there kick after all the action. “Yeah, I know. You’re dads a damn fool.”

“You alright Arthur?” Sadie was by Arthurs side in a second, looking him over. “What happened to Kieran?”   
“Bill took him, I told him to get Kieran to a doctor, he wouldn’t last without one. We can meet up with them later.” Arthur looked over the area at all the dead bodies, grimacing with a shake of his head. “How did you know we were in trouble?”   
“You boys are always in some sort of trouble. But Charles knew, said he felt somethin’ wrong, and I can see what he’s talking about.” Sadie reached out to Arthurs head, touching the bruise there gently which made Arthur suck a breath in through his teeth. “Just need to get the swelling down, you'll be fine.”

“Where’d Colm get off to?”

“Dunno.” Sadie holstered her gun, carefully placing a hand on Arthurs arm to lead him out of the camp. “He ran off, don’t know why Charles didn’t kill him.”

“He had his fingers in Kierans head.” Arthur muttered. “When the arrow flew... Charles knew what he was doing.” Sadie nodded and didn’t respond, the two heading over to the horses. Charles was there in a moment, out of breath from running over but even still. Arthur rushed to him, wrapping his arms around Charles to hold him close.

“Your head-”

“Yeah it’s just fine. Come on, we gotta go. I told Bill to take Kieran to Saint Denis, pray to god they made it.”

“I’ll head back to camp.” Sadie announced as she got onto her horse. “I’ll let Hosea and Dutch know what happened, you two gonna be alright?” Arthur nodded, carefully getting onto Taimas saddle with Charles’ help. “Alright, I’ll see you two back at camp.”   
“Make sure you ain’t followed. I don’t know where all those O’Driscolls ran off, you see one of em you shoot first.” Sadie scoffed, nodding before she took off in the direction of camp. “Where’d our horses get off to?”   
“We didn’t see them. They’ll be back at camp later I’m sure.” Charles got onto Taimas back, gently placing his hands on Arthurs hips. Arthur grabbed the reins, spurring Taima forwards while Charles watched the area, looking over his shoulder once in awhile.

`

`

`

Bill was sitting in the doctors office, his arms crossed over his chest with his hat on his knee as it bounced up and down anxiously. Kieran was with the doctor, they’d been told he needed to have the socket cleaned and have everything properly removed, of course Bill had been aware there’d be no way to save the eye but still hearing it was different. Kieran had stayed unconscious the entire ride, and even when he was handed over to the doctor- though Bill was sure the doctor was giving him something to keep him asleep.

Arthur and Charles walked into the doctors awhile after Bill had arrived, Charles motioning for Arthur to sit while he spoke to the nurse at the front desk. Arthur smiled at Bill, taking a seat next to him with a loud sigh.

“How is he?”   
“He’ll live. Doctor says he needs a few days rest since he lost a lot of blood. Gonna… Clean his eye out, don’t know how long they want him here.” Arthur hummed in acknowledgment, leaning back in his seat. “I’m…” Bill sighed, leaning forward to put his head in his hands. “Are you alright?” Arthur raised a brow at him, nodding slowly.

“I’m fine. Head hurts, but they didn’t touch me much. Mostly a lot of threats.” Slowly he leaned over to Bill, whispering in his ear. “What story did you tell the doctor?”

“The truth, sort of. Got kidnapped by gang members, we’re courting and he’ll know me when he’s up. Didn’t tell them anything else.” Arthur nodded, running his fingers through his hair. Charles walked over a moment later, holding out a small tin to Arthur.

“Nurse said this should help your bruise. Let me.” Charles sat by Arthur, popping the tin open to dip his fingers into the cream to gently rub on the bruise Arthur had. Arthur cringed, closing his eyes for a moment as Charles rubbed it onto him gently.

Time passed between the three of them, mostly in silence, Arthur leaving once to stretch his legs and go grab some canned food from the general store, not that anyone really felt like eating at the moment but even as the three of them picked at their canned fruit and ate slowly it felt better than nothing.

Eventually the doctor walked out of the back room, pausing when he saw Arthur and Charles, before he cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry for the wait-”

“We’re with him.” Arthur motioned to Bill, who perked up upon seeing the doctor walk out, instantly on the edge of his seat. “Whats the news?” The doctor nodded, looking at Bill.

“He’ll make it, be just fine. He just needs rest now, I’ve fixed him up with bandages that will need changed every so often, but the bleeding has subsided and it shouldn’t get infected.” Bill relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. “He should be waking up shortly, I gave him something to keep the pain subsided, but due to… Recent issues, I can’t release him to an unbonded alpha unless he recognizes you. Too many alphas bringing in injured and unconscious omegas, only to grab them and slip away with them once they’re taken care of.” The doctor stepped out of the doorway, holding his arm out. “If you want to come see him, one of you at a time though, please.” Bill of course stood, Arthur and Charles didn’t try to stop him even though Arthur terribly wanted to see Kieran and make sure he was okay- and not just in the physical sense.

Bill went into the back room, his throat tightening when he saw Kieran lying on the surgery table, his breathing shallow, but there. The entire left side of his face was bandaged, but clean, the blood on his shirt was dry now mostly and nothing looked fresh, though Kieran still looked pale and he still looked hurt, he was alive. Bill walked over to his side, gently caressing his cheek, his face pinched in worry. The doctor was behind him, watching them carefully as Bill could feel.

“I’m sorry to bring this up right away, but we didn’t have much time when he was brought in, but I need to talk about payment-”

“How much?”

“Considering how… Well, difficult this situation is I’ll take off some money for you, so all I’ll ask for is thirty.” Bill dug into his pocket, pulling out a wad of cash to count out thirty dollars, pausing a moment to pull off another five and hand it to the doctor.

“A tip, I guess. Just take it.” Bill shoved the rest of his money into his pocket before turning his attention back to Kieran. “How long do you think it’ll be before he wakes up?”   
“I can’t say, not very long though.” The doctor sat at his desk, filling out some paper while Bill stood beside Kieran.

It felt like hours before Kieran stirred, groaning as he woke up slowly. Bill let out another sigh of relief, slowly reaching out to grab Kierans hand. “Kieran?” The man in question blinked, looking around before he looked at Bill.

“Bill…” Kierans voice was hoarse, his hand squeezing Bills hand weakly. “You came for me?”

“Of course. How do you feel?” Kieran shrugged and slowly began to sit up, Bill helping him up.

“Like shit. Where are we? What happened…” Kieran looked around again, looking down at his hand. “My… I….” Kieran slowly reached up, feeling the bandage over the side of his face, sucking in a quick breath. Bill rubbed his back, brows knit together tightly. “That… Mother fucker.”

“We can talk about all that later. We should get back uh- home.” The doctor joined by Bills side, helping to get Kieran onto his feet before he held the door open so Bill could lead the boy out of the room. Charles and Arthur saw them walking out and got to their feet, Charles heading out to get the horses ready while Arthur held the front door open, waving goodbye to the doctor as the four of them left.

“God damn, tired.” Kieran muttered as Bill helped him onto the horse. “How did you find us?”

“Charles.” Bill answered, getting onto the horse with Kieran, putting his arm around the man so he could lean back on him and not fall off. Charles and Arthur got on their own horse and they rode out of the city, slowly so they didn’t disturb Kieran too much.

`

The four of them rode back into camp, none of them speaking until they pulled up and Arthur shouted out that they needed some help with Kieran. Mary-Beth rushed over, clasping her hands over her mouth as she saw Kieran before she carefully reached out to help get Kieran off of the horse.

“My god, those O’Driscolls!” Tilly rushed over next, not far behind Mary-Beth, the two women allowing Kieran to lean on them. “Damn them! Hurtin’ Kieran like this.” Mary-Beth shook her head.

“He’s alive at least.” Tilly muttered, the two of them leading Kieran across the camp, much to everyones horrified looks. Bill wasn’t far behind them, wanting to be close to Kieran until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, seeing Hosea behind him, the mans expression full of worry.

“What did the doctor say?”   
“He’ll make it. Just need to keep a close watch on him.” Bill looked back to where Mary-Beth and Tilly led Kieran- his tent- and gently laid him down on a cot that had been set up in there. “We have a cot now?”   
“Sadie came back and told us a short version of what happened. Susan set up a cot so he wouldn’t have to sleep on the dirt.” Hosea gently pat Bills shoulder. “I’m glad he’s okay. Go, be with him.” Hosea turned and walked off, going over to Arthur and Charles to talk to them, while Bill head straight to his tent, sitting down beside the cot to hold Kierans hand as the man rested..

Dutch joined by Hoseas side with Charles and Arthur, not wanting to see Kieran and Bill, or figuring they should be alone. Charles tensed when Dutch got close, his hand moving to tug Arthur close to him. Hosea seemed upset as well, putting his hand on Dutchs arm. “We almost lost Sean, Jack and Eleanor just got home a week ago after being  _ kidnapped _ , and Kieran lost his goddamn eye. Can we stop, Dutch? Can we lie low?” Dutch seemed caught off by the statement, clenching his jaw.

“Dutch-” Arthur spoke up, moving away from Charles a step. “I just… We gotta stop, just two months, I can’t keep moving around like this, you know what its like.”

“Of course.” Dutch spoke quickly. “Of course, of course. We’ll lie low, we can… Nobody else is going to be injured, or kidnapped. Hosea, make sure everyone knows that, as of today, no less than a group of three out of camp at a time, regardless of where they’re going.” Hosea relaxed his shoulders, hearing that Dutch was doing something. “Arthur, my boy, you go and you rest your head. You are alive… You’re safe. We’ll keep it that way, you have my word.”

**Author's Note:**

> Coming up next is going to be the thing that we've all been waiting for. Charles and Arthur are going to be parents! That'll be to make up for what I did here, I am so sorry.


End file.
